October 26, 2007	Friday	Shawwal 13, 1428

LONDON, Oct 25: The price of Brent crude oil struck an historic peak of $86.28 per barrel in trading on Thursday on renewed concerns over tight global energy supplies.

New York crude also surged as Turkey vowed to “purge” Kurdish rebels in the northern region of oil-rich Iraq, and following news that US energy stockpiles fell sharply last week.

After striking a record high, Brent North Sea crude for December delivery stood at $85.95 per barrel, up $1.58 from Wednesday’s close.

New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, soared by $1.56 to $88.66 on Thursday after an intra-day peak of 88.99.

The US November contract had struck a historic high of $90.07 last Friday owing to tensions in the Middle East.

On Thursday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said his country was “running out of patience” with Iraq over Kurd rebels there and would “purge” bases across the border.

Gul made the comments ahead of the arrival of an Iraqi delegation in Ankara for talks on mounting tensions between the two countries.

After sliding since Monday, oil prices began rebounding strongly on Wednesday after the US government said that stockpiles of crude had plunged by 5.3 million barrels in the week ending October 19.

The market had expected a gain of 960,000 barrels.

“Crude futures are still drawing support from Wednesday bullish report on US crude inventories, as US commercial crude stocks remain around 5 per cent below last year’s estimates,” said Sucden analyst Michael Davies.

Inventories of US distillates, which include diesel and heating fuel, sank by 1.8 million barrels last week.

The data from the Department of Energy confounded market expectations for a rise of 275,000 barrels.

Heating fuel stocks are a key market focus because demand usually surges during the northern hemisphere winter.—AFP